Just hours after angry residents gathered to hear LAPD officers and Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman discuss crime, two more home invasion robberies took place in the West Valley.
Over 300 residents from Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills crowded the Encino Community Center Monday night for the event, where the sponsoring Encino Neighborhood Council asked “Do You Feel Safe in Encino?”
This meeting followed several home invasion robberies in the community, with the tragic double homicide of American Idol producer Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca on July 14, shot with their own gun during a burglary.
“Why does it have to take a death for us to have a meeting like this?” asked one frustrated resident.
Monday night two more break-ins took place while people were at home, one on Hayvenhurst and one on Enfield. One resident was quoted, saying, “We are being targeted, despite spending money on security systems, even replacing expensive vehicles with less affluent-looking ones, for fear of being followed home! It’s scary.”
The irony is that overall crime statistics are down, according to LAPD Deputy Chief Marla Ciuffetelli, Valley Operations Bureau.
That means nothing to West Valley residents, where break ins, home invasions and burglaries seem to be happening weekly.
LAPD Captain Michael Bland agreed that Encino is a “flash point for burglary,” with crime up 150% for the area from last year.
Bland said that LAPD has only one basic car unit and seven patrol units to cover the entire 33 square miles.
With the recent spate of burglaries, LAPD has increased patrols from 7 pm to 7 am, and Bland says they have requested extra patrols, mounted equestrian units and increased flyovers.
He said that several cities within L.A. County are using drones to capture criminals and have real-time watch centers with cameras in public places. Many residents asked if they could raise the money themselves to donate drones to the station. Though good in intent, the drones must then be operated and maintained within the station, and the funds aren’t there for that.
Bland said they are trying to “do more with less,” but stated that Los Angeles in total has only 8,700 police officers, compared to New York, which has 48,000.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman talked about his goals to get beyond the “decarceration” policy of previous D.A. George Gascon, and build a system that enforces the law and makes it clear to criminals that there are consequences to their actions. “They will be arrested and taken to jail,” he stressed.
“The goal is to deter them in the first place. The D.A.’s office is open for business,” he said which got applause.
His suggestion that residents pressure their city councilperson to demand more resources got a large round of “boo’s” for Encino Councilmember Nithya Raman, who voted to defund the police.
Hochman, when asked about the homeless situation, said that current mental health laws are “insane.” He said that there are only 100 beds for locked wards, and the city needs state funding to create state-of-the-art mental health facilities to handle the truly mentally ill living on the streets.
The crowd seemed to feel that no real concrete answers were given. The LAPD officers again stressed community involvement, which everyone has heard before – sharing information on social media, forming neighborhood watch groups, etc.
One victim of a home invasion robbery said, “Encino should just form its own police force and keep ourselves safe.”
